Senate Approves Bill on Sandy Aid

By

Andrew Grossman

Updated Jan. 28, 2013 7:20 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—A $50.5 billion aid package to help Northeastern states rebuild after superstorm Sandy won Senate approval Monday evening, clearing the last major congressional hurdle before heading to the president, who said he would sign it.

Lawmakers from the Northeast praised the legislation, calling it much-needed help for a region struggling to recover from the devastating October storm. The funds will go to a range of projects, including rebuilding housing and mass transit, protecting against future floods and helping businesses recoup some storm-related losses.

Combined with $9.7 billion in funding for the National Flood Insurance Program passed earlier this month, the new bill brings the total federal cost for Sandy to more than $60 billion so far—larger than the annual appropriations for some cabinet-level agencies.

"Ninety-one days ago, Sandy struck a body blow against New York state and New Jersey. And today we've finally struck back," said Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.). "The passage of this bill will mean money for homeowners who've lost everything and need to rebuild, small businesses whose doors are still closed but must reopen, and protections for our coastlines and vital infrastructures to make sure that next time a storm strikes, we're not hit that bad."

President Barack Obama said: "I commend Congress for giving families and businesses the help they deserve, and I will sign this bill into law as soon as it hits my desk."

Monday's vote marked the end of a long road through the halls of the Capitol. After the White House submitted the funding request to Congress more than a month after the storm, the legislation was delayed by squabbling over the fiscal cliff, opposition from House Republicans, the presidential inauguration and negotiations over overhauls to Senate rules.

Passage was nearly delayed again Monday by a winter storm in the Northeast, leaving aides worried that not enough senators would be able to travel to Washington in time for the vote.

On the Senate floor, supporters beat back an amendment offered by Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah) that would have offset the cost of the bill by trimming other discretionary spending over the next nine years. Mr. Lee said that he appreciated the need for federal spending in response to Sandy, but that large federal deficits made it necessary to cut spending to pay for it.

"We have to stop and consider the fact that we are more than $16 trillion in debt and that we're adding to that debt at a rate of more than $1 trillion a year," Mr. Lee said.

But Democrats said the amendment would force indiscriminate cuts to important programs that have already seen their appropriations reduced. They also said it would be a break from more than two decades of precedent, which saw three dozen disaster-aid bills passed without offsets. The amendment failed by a vote of 35 for and 62 against.

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